League of Women Voters Host BOT Candidate Forum
Oct. 6. (Photo by Patrick Fitzgerald/The Guardsman)
By Audrey Garces/Staff Writer
Two of the four 2015 Board of Trustees candidates, Wendy Aragon and incumbent Alex Randolph, debated pressing issues such as the accreditation crisis, declining enrollment and the budget during a forum held by the League of Women Voters on Oct. 6, 2015.
Opening remarks were delivered by Ashley Raveche, President of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, who introduced moderator Allyson Washburn to pose questions to the candidates submitted online and from the audience.
Washburn mentioned Tom Temprano, a candidate who was not able to attend, submitted a statement that was available to the audience members in the program. Jason Zeng is the fourth candidate who also was not present at the event.
Accreditation
When Washburn asked their number one priority if elected a trustee, Aragon said she would focus on workforce training within the college, while Randolph said he has worked toward overcoming the accreditation crisis as his first priority over the past five months as a current Trustee.
Follow-up questions pressed candidates further about City College’s current state of “show cause” under the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Show cause means the school must prove to the agency they have reached financial and administrative standards by next fall, or the school could be in danger of closing down due to lack of state funding.
However, a state task force recently submitted a 270-page report that declares the accrediting commission is unfit to oversee California community colleges, as it has placed sanctions on over half of these schools.
“Those of us in the coalition have been saying for the past few years that it is not right, and it is refreshing to hear this validated,” Aragon said.
Randolph said the commission has never questioned the quality of education the College provides, and students should expect nothing but “world class education” from their school.
“We need to reestablish ties to the community to make sure that people know we are still open and accredited,” Randolph said. “I keep saying it, but there is so much misinformation out there that people don’t even know we exist.”
–Alex Randolph
The Board of Trustees voted in their last meeting to submit a letter to the Department of Education, which accredits the ACCJC, to state that the commission overstepped its boundaries, according to Randolph.
When asked about the steps they would take to ensure City College remains accredited, both candidates emphasized the importance of boosting enrollment.
Randolph mentioned a functioning Board of Trustees is crucial, as well as an equal distribution of student services at all campuses.
Aragon said marketing is a less effective tool, but focused on wanting to add programs such as taxi driver or service animal training to draw larger crowds to the college.
“We need to reestablish ties to the community to make sure that people know we are still open and accredited,” Randolph said. “I keep saying it, but there is so much misinformation out there that people don’t even know we exist.”
Randolph has met with numerous non-profit organizations and high schools to push for an increase in enrollment and show people the opportunities City College has to offer.
“We try to make high school students college ready, but we aren’t really making younger students college aware. We need to work in communities like the Bayview, theMission, the Excelsior and start talking to students about what their potential is,” Aragon agreed.
Developments
Washburn stated $24 million have been spent designing the Performing Arts Center which has been “shovel-ready” since 2013, but the start of construction still remains stagnant.
“The Performing Arts Center is critical. We told voters we would do it and it is dishonest not to follow through with it,” Aragon said. “We are losing money and we are losing the opportunity for students to use that center for education.”
Randolph is also in support of the center being built, but believes City College should partner with the city and not be solely responsible for financing this project, as it would be a center that benefits the whole city.
“Whenever you invest in the arts, and performing arts specifically, you benefit society,” Randolph said.
Next door to the planned Performing Arts Center, the future of the Balboa Reservoir also remains a topic of controversy.
“We have to think about seniors, people who work or have to take their kids to school, and we have to be able to accommodate them.”
–Wendy Aragon
Randolph and Aragon said there are two sides to be considered on the Balboa Reservoir – San Francisco’s housing crisis and City College as a commuter school where people depend on cars to attend class.
“We need to keep in mind students who are traveling from outside or across the city. We have to think about seniors, people who work or have to take their kids to school, and we have to be able to accommodate them,” Aragon said. “If we took that parking away, we would lose a lot.”
Budget
When asked how she would approach the budget, Aragon said shared governance has been an issue at City College, but she saw it work when she was at De Anza College and on student government.
“We need to be making sure everybody has the ability to weigh in on how we set the budget, and meeting with faculty, students and classified staff to make sure that we are passing a budget that works for everybody,” Aragon said.
Aragon mentioned she would focus on the firefighter program, Extended Opportunity Programs & Services, Homeless At-Risk Transitional Students Programs and veterans services as some of the most important programs City College has to offer.
Programs & Services, Homeless At-Risk Transitional Students Programs and veterans services as some of the most important programs City College has to offer.
She also highlighted the importance of keeping non-credit classes, saying taking these away would “cut the community out of the community college,” pointing out that the college still gets money from the state for these classes.
Randolph said he was proud to pass the budget a few months ago at City College. A current member of the board, he said the college could lose more than $30 million from their budget.
“When you cut classes you not only cut students’ access to education, but you also potentially lay off the faculty member that was teaching that class,” Randolph said.
He went on to stress the importance of expanding the college’s S.T.EM. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and education programs) and looks forward to potentially hiring faculty members
in those departments, claiming a million jobs will be unfilled over the next five years in the science and healthcare fields.
Washburn pointed out City College full-timers are some of the lowest paid in the state, and both candidates responded with support and dedication to pushing for appropriate compensation for faculty and classified staff.
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